Was Baylor Bears' Destruction of Iowa State Cyclones Good Offense or Bad Big 12 Defense?

By Taylor Sturm

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Baylor Bears put up 714 total yards of offense against lowly Big 12 opponents, the Iowa State Cyclonesin a 71-7 win. Heisman hopefuls Bryce Petty and Lache Seastrunk had their usual outstanding games. Petty threw for 378 yards and Seastrunk ran for 112; they eath had two touchdowns apiece.

So as the Bears continue to put up ridiculous numbers on offense, is it their offensive prowess or the frequently terrible defenses of the Big 12 that continue to lead to Baylor’s offensive success?

The answer is a fairly easy one – both.

The only offenses in the NCAA that might be more all around athletic are probably the Oregon Ducks and the Texas A&M Aggies. Seastrunk is one of the most exciting running backs to watch in the country, and his backups are just as explosive. Petty has so many weapons at wide receiver that he could close his eyes and throw down the field and someone would come up with it. The offense is that good.

However, the defenses in the Big 12 have hemorrhaged points this season. Most of the games between the top teams have turned into either blowouts or games where whoever has the ball last wins. Unless all of the offenses in the Big 12 are scary good and no one is paying attention, the defenses are subpar when compared to other AQ conferences.

Still undefeated, the Bears are one of the top 10 teams in college football and deserved to be placed there in the next round of rankings. Unfortunately, Baylor will need to continue to hold opponents to little scoring like they did against Iowa State and will need multiple top teams to drop a game or two if they want to sneak into the BCS National Championship talk.